Local council pay deal will not be resolved for months

This year’s local government pay deal will not be resolved until at least September, it has emerged.

The three main local government unions – Unite, GMB and Unison – have formally agreed to consult members on the improved 1% pay offer for 2009-10, calling it the “best available through negotiation”. Originally, local government employers had offered 0.5%.

Under the deal, lowest-paid members have been offered 1.25%, and workers with less than five years’ service will also receive an extra day’s leave, and employers have offered to install a national redundancy avoidance agreement by the end of the year.

Unions said the consultation results will be available in early to mid September.

Peter Allenson, Unite national officer for local authorities, said: “While the trade union side has quite rightly said that this is the best that can be achieved by negotiation, employers should realise that Unite, along with other unions, will be campaigning vigorously from now for next year’s pay award.

“Employers will be storing up recruitment and retention difficulties unless they start to reward their staff better.”